Maize-harvester attachment for wagons.



1. w` DICKEY.

MAIZE HARVESTER ATTACHMENT FOR WAGONS.

APPLICATION, rim; ma. 23. 191s.

Patented May 1', 1.917.

2 SHEETS-,sain 1.,

APPLICATIKON FILED 118.231 19.16.

Patented 113.571, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 a s. W.,

. BEST/immers coP vJaiuEs WITTEN DICKEY, or oLUs'TEE, oxLAHoMYA.

MAIZE-HARVESTER ATTACHMENT FOR WAGONS.

specificati@ of Letters Patent.

Patented-May 1, 1917.

Application led February, 1916. Serial No. 79,934.

To all whom it may concern j '.Be it `'known that I, JAMES WrrrEN Dromer, la citizen of thejUnited States, and

A a .resident of O1ustee,`in the county of Jacksonand State of Oklahoma, have invented a certain newl and useful Improvement in MaizelHarvester Attachments vfor Wagons,

of which the following is a specification. y

, l` `My principal object here residesin the provision of a harvesting' machine, espe- 4'cially designed with respect to harvesting Millo maize, and other grain of the sorghum family, which grows at uneven heights from the ground, the device being so constructed as tobe attached to4 an ordinary farm wagon andwithout the'requirement of special tools Aor Askilled workmen.

fA further object of the`invention resides t izf the `provision of a harvester for ma1ze,

in4 the nature of a sickle and reel driven from one of the'ground wheels of the wagon y', and arranged to one side of the body of the "wagon, a* chute or conveyer being disposed vto extend from the sickle back to the wagon body through which the cut grain may pass into the body of the vehicle. y

A still further object of the invention is g., to provide an\improved device of the class described whichl will be extremely simple,

durable, efiicientin operation, and inexpensive to manufacture.

" f With 'these `,and\ other ob] i' jfwhich will become apparent Aas the descripq. tion 'proceedsfthe invention resides in the ects in view construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and-illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several figures, of which- Figure 1 represents a top plan AView of a harvester constructed according to my in- 'vention, showing the same as inl place on a farm wagon.

@Figa 2 is a view-in section taken vertically f ,nnd transversely on' the plane indicated by ,theline 2;-2 of F ig. 1, looking in the direc- `tion .indicated by the arrows.

`thereoif Fig. .3 represents a fragmentary viewin elevation of the harvester.

Fig/4 a'represents a front elevational View Referring' more particularly to the drawings, there is indicated at 5 an ordinary farm wagon. Connected to the frontend of the body thereof, and atthe corners, is a 'pairof 4.clan/ips or plates `6 which are re.-

tained in position by suitable bolts or other fastening devices. These plates 6 are provided at equally spaced intervals with openings 7 vfor receiving transversely extending shafts 8 and Sirespe'etively. These shafts at o ne endextend out beyond the sides of the wagon body, and the shaft 8 supports a reel. 10, while the shaft 9 has suitably connected. 65

therewith a cutting mechanism, indicated generally at The cutting mechanism is arranged below the reel.

On the opposite' end of shaft 8 from the reel 10 is arranged a sprocket which is 70 driven by means of achain 11 from another sprocket suitably placed with respect to one of the rear wheels 12; A suitable clutch mechanism indicated generally at 13, is used for coupling and uncoupling the chain drive with the rear wheel.

The cutter mechanism 10a includes a plurality of spaced fingers 14, which extend forwardly of a sickle or cutter bar 15. `These fingers may be formed integrally with the finger bar ofthe cutting mechanism, or, if desired, may be made separately and integrally secured thereto. The fingers consist each of a bar of suitable length, having its outer end bent downwardly at an angle of about 45. and liattened laterally as shown. The flattened portions or blades thus formed t are tapered toward' their outer ends. The cutter bar at its'in'ner end hasia pivotal connection as. at 16 with the lower end of a le- 90 ver 17. This lever is centrally lpivoted as at 18 on a bracket 19 carried by the shaftand rod and lying against one of the plates 6. Through an opening in the upper end of the bracket the sha-ft 8 extends. inwardly of the-. 95 reel 10 there is mounted on the shaft 8 a drum cam 20, within the groove of which a roller or other similar device carried by the upper 'end of lever 1,7 extends, whereby when the' shaft 8 is rotated, reciprocal motion will be 100 imparted to the cutter bar or sickle $5.

Arranged on the bar or rod 9 outwardly of,

a boss 21 carried by the bracket 19 adjacent its lower end and through which said rod extends, is a forwardly extending supporting arm 22, suitably fixed in adjusted position upon said rod or shaft through the medium ofa set screw 23 or similar device. The bracket 19 serves to retain the shaft and rod at a constant distance apart irrespective of their vertical adjustment. A second forwardly extending varm 24 carried by the rod 'linger hal.

BEST AVAILABLE COF" or ha r 9, adjacent its outer end and iii spaced relation with the arm 22, is similarly retained iii adjusted position upon the rod by a set screw or other device. The arms 22 and 24 are arranged respectively one on each side of the reel and sickle mechanism, and these arms at their -forward ends are provided with bearings .24 i'n which the ends of a shaft 25 carrying a roller 26 are journaled.

bar 15 is rictionally retained against the.

surfaces which support it, through the rnediilin of suitable springs 28 carriedvby the Arranged at the rear of the reeland cutter mechanism is a conveyeror chiite Q9. This chiite is preferably made of metal, lia ving a lioor and upwardly extending side walls. The chute is suitably supported on the .body of thel vehicle, extending outwardly therefrom, and isarranged so that the grain as it is cut, will he thrown upon the chute by the reel .and will be directed by the chute upwardly and inwardly over thefside of the wagon into the wagon body. The forward edge of the chute or conveyer is arranged preferably just below or in close proximity to the cutter mechanism, so that there will be no danger of the grain being lost between the cutter mechanism and the chute. The chute curves upwardly and inwardly and rests, adjacent its rear end, on one 'of the wagon sides Suitable braces are provided for supporting the chute in place. The fioor of the chute at its Vfront end, as at 30,'is of a degree of curvature substantially coincident with the degree of curvature of the rcel circumfereiice, -so that the blades of the reel may impart momentum to the heads of grain as they are cut, enough to 4carry them through the chute into the wagon.

In operation, the harvesting mechanism is adjusted with respect to the wagon body vertically, through the medium of the plurality of openings 7 through which the bars or'rods extend, to a height conformable ',with the height at -which the crop to be ,liai'vested stands. As the vehicle moves along, the

. roller 26 iii first engaging the maize, will bendthe stalks thereof over and forwardly,

so as to bring. the heads of grain, which, as is well known, grow at various heights, to approximately a common level, at which time the roller will pass from over the stalks and as they spring'buck they will be engaged by the lingers of the cutting mechanism. The curled-over heads of grain will be raised upwardly by the `inclined fingers to be passed over the cutter bar, and as the reel in engaging the stalks throws them back upon the cutter bar, theheads will be severed and will be thrown by the reel onto the chute and thus conveyed back to be deposited in the wa gon body. The disks 2'( serve to 'separate or parcel the stalks into bunches 'for properl guidingthem between the fingers 14.

uch a machine as'I. have. described is characterized by advantages of simplicity in construction and operation, and of' ready adaptation to wagons of varA ous types, Without the use of special tools or the necessity of skilled labor, may readily be adjusted to accommodate the height of the growing crop, and affords at the same time an inexpensive, extremely efiicient, and handy harvesting device which will operate with a marked degree of success in attaining the objects for which it is devised.

Although I havedescribed the preferred embodiment of my invention I may desire to make such changes in the construction, op-

eration, and arrangement of parts thereof, as do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.V i

I claim 1. A harvester attachment for wagons including a pair of vertically arranged plates,

means for securing the plates in spaced re-:

lation on the body of a wagon adjacent the forward end thereof, said plates being provided with a series of spaced openings, a.

shaft extending through openings at a common level in the plates, transmission means for driving the shaft from one ofthe ground wheels of .the vehicle, said shaft at one 'end extendinfr out beyond the side of the vehicle body, a reel'- carried by the extended end of the shaft, a drum cam carried by the shaft inwardly of .therceh a rod supportedr by the plates beneath the shaft, a cutting .-rniechanism carried by said rod beneath the 'i-eel, a bracket carried by one of the plates, a lever pivotally connected to the bracket and having connection with the druxn cam and the cutting mechanism whereby the 1atter may beoperated, means for leveling the grain heads and separating the grain stalks to direct them properl against the cutting mechanism, and ak c ute urra-n ed rearwardly of the cutting mechanism or direct-A ling1 the cut grain into the body .ofthe veiic e.

y2. A harvester attachment for wagons includng a pair of plates, means forsecuring the plates in spaced relation on the body .of a wagon, a shaft and a rod supported by the plates and adjustable vertical means connectingthe shaft and -rod'for retaining them at a constant distance apart irrespectve of their adjustment, transmission mea-ns between the shaft and one of the round wheels of the wagon .whereby the s aft may be driven, said shaft at one end -extending out beyond the side of the body ofl the vehicle, a reel carried by the extended portion of the shaft, a cutting mecha-l isi nism carried by said rod beneath the reel,

transmission means between the shaft and cutting mechanism whereby the latter may be driven, a pair of spaced arms carried by the rod on opposite sides of the cutting -mechanism and extending forwardly thereof, aroller supported by the arms in advance of the cutting mechanism, anda chute arranged adjacent to and rearwardlyrof the cutting mechanism and reel for guiding the cut grain into the body of the vehicle.

3. A device of the class described includlng a pair of plates, means for securing the plates to the body of a vehicle,a shaft adjustably' carried by the plates and extending to onel side of the vehicle, a-reel car- -ried by said shaft, transmission means be- A tween the shaft and one of the ground wheels vso means for guiding the cut grain into the body of the vehicle.

ing a 'pair of plates, means for securing the plates on a vehicle body, a rod and a shaft adjustably carried bythe plates one above the other and extending at one end beyond the side of thefvehicle, means for retaining the rod and the shaftv ata constant distance apart irrespective of their adjustment, a reel and cutter mechanism carried by the shaft and rod-respectively, means whereby p the shaft may be Ydriven as the vehicle advancesmmeans whereby'the cutting mechanism may be driven from the shaft, a roller, means feit supporting the same in advance of the cutting mechanism, and a chute arranged rearwardly of the cutting mechanism and reel and adapted to guide the eut gjrai'n into the body of the vehicle.

A device of the class described includingr plates, means for securing the pla'tes to thebody of a vehicle, a shaft and a rod car.

ried by said plates andxadjustable vertically, means for maintaining theshaft and rod at a constant distancev apart irrespective of their adjustment, means for driving the shaft, a reel andv cutting mechanism carried by the shaft and rod, means for transmitting motion from the shaft to the mecha- Anism carried by the rod, and means for guiding cut grain into the body of the vehicle.

JAMES WTTTEN DicKEY.

' 4. A device of the class described includ- 

